extremely slow write speeds on samsung 990 evo m.2 drive

Troubleshooting Performance Issues with the Samsung 990 EVO M.2 SSD: Investigating Slow Write Speeds

In recent times, many users have reported unexpected performance drops with their NVMe SSDs, even with relatively new drives. One such case involves the Samsung 990 EVO M.2 SSD, which, despite being only about eight months old, exhibits significantly reduced write speeds and throttling during data transfers, impacting overall system performance.

Observed Symptoms

The primary concerns include:
– Extremely slow write speeds during file transfers, sometimes dropping to as low as 100 KB/s.
– Initial transfer speeds that begin at a certain rate but then rapidly slow down to a crawl.
– High drive usage, often reaching 100%, particularly during activities such as downloading large files or gaming, like downloading titles on Steam.
– Occasional random spikes in disk activity, causing inconsistent performance.

An illustrative screenshot of the drive’s activity can be viewed here: https://imgur.com/a/Df3VE5P

Potential Causes and Troubleshooting Steps

1. Thermal Throttling:
   NVMe drives, including the Samsung 990 EVO, can experience thermal throttling when temperatures rise beyond optimal ranges. Ensure your system has proper cooling and that the drive’s temperatures are within manufacturer-specified limits.

2. Drive Health and Firmware:

3. Check the drive’s SMART data using tools like Samsung Magician or CrystalDiskInfo to assess health status and error logs.

4. Ensure the SSD has the latest firmware installed, as firmware updates often resolve known performance issues.

5. System Configuration:

6. Verify that the drive is connected to a supported NVMe slot with optimal bandwidth (preferably PCIe Gen 4.x).

7. Confirm that your motherboard BIOS/UEFI settings enable the appropriate NVMe support and that no power-saving modes are throttling the drive.

8. Background Processes and Storage Usage:

9. Monitor active processes that may be accessing the drive heavily.

10. Check for scheduled tasks or system services that could affect disk performance.

11. File System and Driver Updates:

12. Make sure your operating system and storage drivers are up to date.
13. Consider running disk optimization and error checking tools to identify any filesystem issues.

When to Seek Professional Assistance

If these troubleshooting steps do not resolve the issue, it may be indicative of a hardware fault